RYEY – Chapter 14 Qian Longxin

On the ox cart from Xiangyang Village sat only women. They never imagined someone from their own village would be accused of attempted murder. Some wanted to speak up in defense, but when they saw the ruffian’s fierce gaze and Cheng Qiao’s face covered in blood, they all wisely shut their mouths.

“I’ll go call Zhaodi.”

One auntie jumped off the ox cart and ran toward Xiangyang Village. Zhaodi was Chen Chunhua’s mother, and she usually got along well with her. So the first thing to do was to inform her.

“I’ll go find the village head.”

Another auntie also jumped off. If these educated youths really went to report to the Public Security Bureau, Xiangyang Village’s chance at being recognized as an “advanced collective” this year would be ruined.

Two ox herders also jumped down. Especially Uncle Niu, who had been at the front—he hadn’t seen what happened behind him and didn’t even know what had occurred yet.

The ox herder behind, however, had seen everything clearly. His gaze at Chen Chunhua was equally fierce. If it turned out that one of their village’s oxen had truly trampled that girl to death, he would be in big trouble too.

“Old Niu, your village girl is vicious—she wanted to send that girl straight to the underworld! Not only will they report it, I’ll report it to the Public Security Bureau as well.”

Uncle Niu also looked at Chen Chunhua. What on earth had possessed this girl? Was she sworn enemies with Cheng Qiao? He had never seen them quarrel before.

“Cheng Qiao, do you still have the strength? If you can, sit on the bicycle. I’ll take you to see a doctor.”

Li Huan held Cheng Qiao tightly, his eyes brimming with heartache.

“You… you really borrowed a bicycle.”

Cheng Qiao wiped the blood from her eyelids with her hand and asked softly.

“Mm. I came just to take you to the county hospital. Wait here, I’ll push the bike over.”

Li Huan carefully set her down when he saw she could sit on her own, then quickly brought the bicycle over and helped her onto it.

Several female educated youths from Xiangqian Village also got off the ox cart and helped Li Huan lift Cheng Qiao onto the back seat. They instructed her to hold tightly around Li Huan’s waist so she wouldn’t fall.

Cheng Qiao quickly wrapped her arms tightly around him. Li Huan straightened his back—her soft, warm hands were a huge temptation. He shook his head, then pedaled hard.

Seeing Cheng Qiao taken away by the young man, the educated youths surrounded Chen Chunhua, determined to drag her to the Public Security Bureau. Xiangyang villagers quickly stopped them, insisting they wait for their village head first.

Not long after, Zhaodi arrived first. Her eyes immediately fell on the bloodstains still left on the rock between the two oxen. Her heart trembled. She looked at Chen Chunhua, unable to understand why her daughter would attack Cheng Qiao.

“Chunhua, were you provoked by someone? Was it Xu Laidi from the educated youth spot who told you to do this?”

Her words gave trembling Chen Chunhua an escape. Everyone was asking why she attacked Cheng Qiao—she didn’t dare admit it was because the ruffian liked Cheng Qiao and she hated her for it.

Now her mother had given her a way out, so of course she followed along. She jumped off the ox cart and threw herself into Zhaodi’s arms, crying:

“Mom, I was wrong. It was Xu Laidi from the educated youth spot who told me to do it. She even gave me fifty cents! Look, here’s the money she gave me yesterday.”

Chen Chunhua pulled out the fifty cents she’d earned selling sorghum flour and handed it to Zhaodi. At a glance, Zhaodi believed her—she knew exactly how much money her daughter had.

When the aunties of Xiangyang Village heard this, they started pointing at the educated youths of Xiangqian Village, shouting: “Don’t say we villagers bully you educated youths. This is your own internal strife, and you’ve dragged our village into it!”

The educated youths argued back, the aunties spat words furiously. One female educated youth pushed an auntie, saying she had bad breath. The auntie, unwilling to back down, pushed back. In an instant, chaos broke out.

“Stop—!”

A man’s shout suddenly rang out, startling the crowd. They looked up—it was Xiangyang’s village head, Chen Weidang. Beside him stood the accountant, Chen Weimin.

Chen Weimin was Chen Chunhua’s father. In the village, Chunhua feared no one—except two people: her uncle Chen Weidang, and her own father.

“Uncle… Dad, you’re here…”

“Chen Chunhua, repeat what happened.”

Chen Weidang’s stern gaze fixed on her, anger suppressed in his eyes. The messenger had already explained everything clearly: Chunhua had pushed Cheng Qiao off the ox cart without cause, inciting public outrage.

Chunhua suddenly didn’t dare speak. She realized her earlier words couldn’t hold up. That fifty cents was Xu Laidi’s payment for grain rations—if Xu Laidi confronted her, her lie would be exposed.

Even if she tried to tough it out, it was useless. Every household’s rations were strictly accounted for. If her family was short ten jin of sorghum flour, maybe they hadn’t noticed yet, but in time her mother would be the first to find out.

As the saying goes, a mother knows her daughter best. Seeing the panic in her daughter’s eyes, Zhaodi’s heart sank. She seemed to understand why her daughter had done this.

Cheng Qiao was too beautiful. And even after being here for so long, her complexion hadn’t darkened at all. This displeased her daughter, who had always been proud of her looks.

“Educated youths, thank you for your help. I’ll commend you to your village head. As for whether or not to report to the Public Security Bureau—I think it should be Cheng Qiao’s decision. What do you say?”

The educated youths murmured among themselves. Cheng Qiao wasn’t from their Xiangqian Village; they didn’t know the full story. If she didn’t want to report it, then they’d just be making trouble for nothing.

“Fine, we’ll wait for Comrade Cheng’s word. If she voluntarily chooses not to report, we’ll let it go. Otherwise, we’ll still report it.”

One female educated youth suddenly spoke up, deliberately emphasizing the word “voluntarily.” Chen Weidang gave her an approving look.

“You’re a sharp one. Dare tell me your name?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare? My name is Qian Longxin.”

“Qian Longxin… are you related to Qian Longkun?”

“He’s my second brother. My own blood brother.”

Chen Chunhua’s heart gave a jolt. Secretly she cursed her bad luck. In her eyes, all the educated youths were brainless—except Qian Longkun.

What was worse, she suspected that her secret crush on the ruffian had long been noticed by Qian Longkun. She still remembered that meaningful look he had given her that night…

“We’ll go check on Comrade Cheng at the hospital. Zhaodi, take Chunhua back home, lock her inside, and don’t let her go anywhere. We’ll deal with her when I return.”